Star Martial Soaring Cloud

Some things are destined to be hidden, such as happy events; no matter how much you try to conceal them, some of the joy will inevitably leak out.

But some things are destined to be revealed—when disaster strikes, the truth will eventually come out.

Within a day, the entire Demon Island knew about this great change.

No one can get out.

The news spread much faster than expected.

Those cultivators who escaped from the ruins, those who witnessed the destruction of the teleportation array, and those survivors who fled in panic—they spread the news to every corner of the Demon Island.

The Demon Island appears in Kyushu every hundred years, stays for a year, and then sails to the outer realms.

Whether they could survive outside the realm was unknown, and there was no record of it in the ancient books of Kyushu.

Indeed, some people stayed on the Demon Island for some reason, but they have never been found anywhere in later generations.

Unless they enter the Central Region or the Inner Region—but those two places are isolated by miasma and are extremely dangerous, even experts at the Dragon Gate Divine Realm dare not venture there easily.

In other words, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the people on the island only have eleven months left to survive.

Eleven months later, the Demon Island will take them all into the endless void.

There was no sunshine, no rain, no spiritual energy, and not even a sliver of possibility for survival there.

This news is like a dull knife, slowly carving away at everyone's heart.

Upon learning of this, the cultivators were first shocked, then panicked, then collapsed, and finally went completely mad.

What makes us human is our ability to suppress our desires and animalistic instincts.

But now, all of this is uncertain.

The Demon Island has become a dead zone, a desolate place devoid of any rules.

After discussing their strategy, Wang Xiao and Su Qinhe headed south—he needed to get back to his temporary post.

At this moment, everyone has something they must do.

Wang Xiao stood on a cliff, gazing at the distant valley, his face ashen.

It used to be a peaceful camp where a dozen monks lived.

But now, the camp has long been burned to ashes, corpses are scattered everywhere, and blood has stained the entire land red.

This was the third tragedy he had witnessed today.

"Which wave is it?" Su Qinhe walked to his side, her expression grave.

"I've lost count. I've seen at least seven or eight places since yesterday."

In despair, a bloody storm erupted on the Demon Island.

Those once virtuous and respectable cultivators, under the shadow of despair, completely tore off all their pretenses.

Of the five hundred cultivators who initially entered the island, fewer than two hundred remain today.

The strong survive, the weak perish.

The law of the jungle became the only truth on the island.

Some fought fiercely for food and water, some fought with all their might for the last remaining cultivation resources, and some, driven by fear and despair, were willing to drag others down with them.

Even more horrifying were the atrocities committed against female cultivators.

Beauty is an asset in times of peace, but a source of disaster in times of chaos.

Wang Xiao once witnessed a female disciple of the Rainbow Palace being surrounded by a group of rogue cultivators. Those people had a ferocious look in their eyes and were uttering foul and obscene words.

By the time he arrived, the female disciple had already bitten her tongue and committed suicide, her clothes soaked with blood.

Those rogue cultivators, upon seeing Wang Xiao, not only did not flee, but instead revealed even more insane and ferocious smiles.

"We're going to die anyway! We're not going to get out of here anyway! What's wrong with having some fun before we die?"

Wang Xiao killed them.

After killing those people, he froze on the spot, his hands trembling uncontrollably.

Not out of fear, but out of anger—a deep, helpless anger.

He can kill one, he can kill ten, but could he kill a hundred? Could he kill all those driven mad by despair?

"In just a few days, at least a hundred people have died." Su Qinhe walked to his side, her face equally grim, her eyes filled with undisguised exhaustion. "At this rate, in another half month, there will probably be no one left on the Demon Island."

"Tianyi Sect." Wang Xiao gritted his teeth and pronounced the name slowly and deliberately.

This is a major reshuffling driven by human intervention.

The purpose of the Tianyi Sect destroying the teleportation array was not to trap everyone, but to make them kill each other.

They sat back and watched the tigers fight, waiting for the cultivators on the Demon Island to kill each other and perish together.

This is the most terrible.

In fact, Wang Xiao and his group had already begun to find ways to stop it the day they learned that the teleportation array had been destroyed.

They immediately gathered together to discuss countermeasures.

"We must form an alliance," Wang Xiao said bluntly. "Only by uniting everyone can we thwart the Tianyi Sect's conspiracy."

Xiao He immediately nodded: "The Righteousness Pavilion is willing to take the lead. Confucian disciples have always taken the world as their responsibility, and in such a critical moment, they should step forward even more."

Wuchen then stated that the Purple Qi Mansion was willing to participate.

Yuan Kong naturally had no objection, as the Sumeru School has always taken the universal salvation of all sentient beings as its purpose.

Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism have always had a deep friendship and are the most loyal allies of the Great Qian Dynasty.

The problem is that the Demon Island is too vast, the forces that have entered the island are diverse, and the people's hearts are scattered and difficult to unite.

"We must hurry and gather our disciples. I'll leave this matter to you all—but remember, do not arouse suspicion!"

"Why don't we form an alliance based on the five domains?" Su Qinhe suggested at the right time. "Cultivators from different domains are used to gathering together, and we can use their original teleportation areas as their respective camps. This way, everyone will be more likely to accept it."

After everyone discussed and agreed on the terms, three rules were established:

Firstly, each region should form its own alliance to appease its disciples and stabilize morale. Cultivators from the Eastern Coast will be under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Coast Alliance, cultivators from the Northern Plains will be under the jurisdiction of the Northern Plains Alliance, and so on; the alliances should coexist peacefully and not interfere with each other.

Secondly, a communication mechanism must be established between the alliances to gradually bring together the scattered cultivators. The original eastern teleportation array area is the most extensive and has the most open terrain. Once the alliances are stable and have complete trust in each other, they can then be gathered together in the east.

Thirdly, and most importantly, all criticism should be directed at the Tianyi Sect.

"We must let everyone know that the Tianyi Sect is our true enemy," Wang Xiao said in a deep voice. "They destroyed the teleportation array, and they were the ones who started this chaos. If we find them, we might be able to find a way to leave the Demon Island."

Xiao He added, "We can spread the word that there might be other teleportation arrays in the central region of Demon Island. Whether it's true or not, it will at least give everyone hope of survival—at this time, hope is more important than anything else!"

"I also want to tell everyone that as long as you work hard to improve your cultivation, you will be able to explore the Central Region and have a chance to find a way out. Don't forget to search for methods and resources to break through the miasma!" Su Qinhe added. "In this way, we can stabilize people's hearts and allow everyone to focus their energy on cultivation instead of killing each other."

However, the island was too vast, and news traveled slowly. Even though everyone acted immediately after making their decision, they still couldn't stop the disaster from spreading.

Five days later, the initial network of communication among the various alliances was finally established.

In these five days, nearly a hundred people have died tragically.

To make matters worse, the people of the Tianyi Sect seemed to have vanished into thin air, and no matter how hard they searched, they could not find a trace of them.

After destroying the teleportation array, they completely disappeared.

Wang Xiao and his group searched the northern and eastern parts of the Demon Island, but they couldn't even find a single disciple of the Tianyi Sect.

"They must have a hiding place," Yuan Kong asserted. "And it's most likely near the Central Region. The miasma there is so thick that ordinary cultivators can't even get in. But the cultivation techniques practiced by the disciples of the Tianyi Sect are inherently strange, so they might have a way to resist the miasma."

This speculation silenced everyone.

If the Tianyi Sect has truly hidden itself in the Central Region, they will be helpless in the short term.

During the discussions about forming an alliance, Yuan Kong, Xiao He, and Wu Chen all persuaded Wang Xiao to join the Dongbin Alliance.

"With your strength, joining the Dongbin Alliance will surely allow you to dominate the situation," Xiao He said sincerely.

Wang Xiao shook his head. "I have an idea." He considered for a moment, then slowly began, "Do you remember that shadowy figure?"

The group nodded in agreement.

"When he saved Qin Wuming, he could have intervened, but he didn't. I couldn't understand why," Wang Xiao said slowly. "Later I realized—it wasn't that he didn't want to intervene, but that he couldn't."

"No?" Yuan Kong was slightly taken aback.

"Or rather, he doesn't dare to reveal his identity." Wang Xiao's eyes suddenly sharpened. "He's wearing a mask and deliberately concealing his presence, clearly not wanting to be recognized. And his unwillingness to be recognized precisely suggests—he might be an acquaintance of someone present."

These words stunned everyone, their faces filled with astonishment.

"Therefore, I suspect that the Tianyi Sect has planted spies in various sects," Wang Xiao continued. "The shadowy figure refused to reveal his identity because he was afraid of being recognized by acquaintances. Furthermore, the fact that the Tianyi Sect was able to destroy four teleportation arrays in such a short time shows that they are very familiar with the situation on Demon Island—this intelligence could not have come out of thin air."

Su Qinhe's expression changed: "You mean... there are people from the Heavenly Yi Sect among us?"

"I'm not sure," Wang Xiao shook his head, "but we can't rule out the possibility. Therefore, I can't join any alliance—but secretly, we're allies!"

He explained, "If I join the alliance, all our power will be exposed; but if I remain independent, they will have to divert their attention to guarding against me—which will actually buy the alliances more time."

"Moreover," he paused, then added, "all the alliances are your own people, and I feel a little uncomfortable joining them rashly."

Xiao He suddenly realized and nodded, saying, "You're right. You must be careful."

"There's one more thing," Wang Xiao said solemnly, looking at everyone. "Please keep an eye on a friend named Mulan. She is the daughter of Situ Hong, the Prime Minister of the Great Qian Dynasty. With her strength and background, she should have been safe on the Demon Island, but now... the situation is unpredictable."

"Situ Mulan?" Su Qinhe was slightly surprised. "She's also on Demon Island?"

Wang Xiao nodded: "I saw her when I arrived on the island, but I haven't been able to find her since. Please keep an eye out for her, and let me know immediately if you have any news about her."

"Don't worry." Xiao He nodded solemnly, "I will immediately notify the people in the various alliances to pay attention to this matter."

Su Qinhe also spoke up, "I will act together with Lu Yang. If the opportunity arises, we will also form an independent alliance specifically to deal with the Tianyi Sect."

After agreeing on their contact methods, everyone went their separate ways.

Wang Xiao watched the departing figures of the group and took a deep breath.

"Where do you plan to go next?" Su Qinhe asked.

"Back to the west," Wang Xiao replied. "I have a friend there who will definitely be waiting for me."